Anaheim, CA – November 11, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — After travelling through 33 states and visiting more than 50 cities across the country, the National Association of Realtors® Home Ownership Matters Bus arrives in Anaheim, Calif., today for the Realtors® Conference & Expo here this week. The bus will be parked on the floor of the Anaheim Convention Center throughout the conference.
The bus’s final stop in Anaheim wraps up a successful eight-month trek that kicked off in Chicago, Ill., this past March. The multi-city bus tour was launched as part of NAR’s Home Ownership Matters campaign to engage Realtors® and consumers across a number of public policy proposals, government programs and incentives that could dramatically impact homeownership in this country.
“As Realtors® gather this week for NAR’s annual conference, we’re well aware of the need to keep housing first on the nation’s public policy agenda, because housing and home ownership issues affect all Americans,” said NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I. “The Home Ownership Matters Bus Tour has helped us do that this past year, giving Realtors® and consumers the opportunity and resources to make their voices heard.”
Some of the issues that were and continue to be front-and-center during the bus tour included the future of the mortgage interest deduction as an important tax benefit for current and aspiring homeowners; the availability and accessibility of mortgage financing – whether the issue is how much buyers can borrow through conforming loan limits, if creditworthy borrowers can qualify for a loan, or the amount of downpayment future buyers must make – and the ability of homeowners to obtain affordable flood insurance. Realtors® will be meeting with elected officials, public policymakers and other industry experts throughout this week’s conference to address these and other issues confronting today’s real estate market.
Whether you own a home today or want to own a home someday, it’s important to engage on housing issues now,” said Phipps. “Using the Home Ownership Matters bus as a conversation starter, Realtors® were able to shine a spotlight on what’s at stake for millions of home owners and home buyers, and demonstrate Realtors®’ commitment to ensuring that people in this country will continue to have access to the American dream of homeownership well into the future.”
For more information on the Home Ownership Matters Bus Tour including recaps and pictures of past events, visit www.realtor.org/topics/bustour2011.
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
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Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. News releases are posted in the Web site’s “News Media” section in the NAR Media Center.
